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EAGAN, Minn. -- For the second straight day, the Minnesota Vikings were without cornerbacks Cameron Dantzler, Holton Hill, and Mark Fields II in practice. While coach Mike Zimmer would likely say otherwise, it鈥檚 looking less and less likely that any of those players will be available for Sunday鈥檚 game against the Detroit Lions at U.S. Bank Stadium.

It shouldn鈥檛 come as a surprise that Dantzler is not practicing; he was taken off the field on a stretcher in last Sunday鈥檚 win over the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field and diagnosed with a concussion. The same can be said about Hill, who has missed the past three games with a foot injury and Fields, who according to his father, suffered a punctured lung against the Packers.

Meanwhile, fellow cornerback Mike Hughes is on injured reserve with a neck injury, leaving the Vikings without a veteran cornerback in the starting lineup.

If neither Dantzler, Hill nor Fields can suit up this weekend, the Vikings will be forced to rely on rookie Jeff Gladney, the inexperienced Kris Boyd, and rookie Harrison Hand against the Lions.

It was a similar story for the Vikings last week against the Packers, though they managed to escape with a 28-22 victory despite a seemingly constant string of injuries.

鈥淚t was stressful during the game, for sure, because we had so many guys at corner go down and we had to work (safety) Anthony Harris in at the nickel,鈥� co-defensive coordinator Adam Zimmer said. 鈥淚t shows a lot of character from our guys that are willing to step in and play at any position they need on game day. Obviously, it feels a lot better after a win that we were able to pull it off.鈥�

On Thursday evening, the Vikings plucked cornerback Dylan Mabin off the Las Vegas Raiders鈥� practice squad and plan to add him to the 53-man roster, his agent, John Andrew Maghamez, said. Mabin, however, isn鈥檛 expected to be active for Sunday鈥檚 game.

Undrafted out of Fordham in 2019, Mabin has played in one NFL regular-season game, getting eight special-teams snaps for the Raiders on Oct. 25 against Tampa Bay. His agent said Mabin was in the Twin Cities on Thursday going through coronavirus testing.

鈥淗e ran a similar system in Vegas, so he knows the playbook well,鈥� Maghamez said. 鈥淎nd he鈥檚 a good special teams contributor, as well. I think the Vikings will really take to him.鈥�

It sounds as if rookie Ezra Cleveland could once again start at right guard this weekend with usual starter Pat Eflein still recovering from a thumb injury.

If that鈥檚 the case, offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak seems comfortable with it. He was thrilled with how Cleveland performed against the Packers last week.

鈥淚t鈥檚 fun to watch a guy when they get a chance to play and they go on the field and they continue the process that says, 鈥業 belong out here,鈥� 鈥� Kubiak said. 鈥淲e are very encouraged by what he鈥檚 done up to this point.鈥�

Lions coach Matt Patricia had no comment on Thursday when asked whether quarterback Matthew Stafford has a chance to play against the Vikings. The update, or lack thereof, comes in response to Stafford being placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list on Wednesday after coming in close contact with someone that tested positive.

That close contact, according to ESPN, occurred on Monday, meaning Stafford would be eligible to play against the Vikings on Sunday if he continues to test negative throughout the week. He would have to catch a private flight to travel to the Twin Cities on Saturday due to the mandatory isolation period.